Well, I'm not really an "I told you so" kind of person, but...
Now, the first 12 minutes of this game was far from pretty. I'm not going to argue otherwise. But suddenly, the switch turned on, and it was vintage Cy Woods afterwards as they finished this game by outscoring the Rams 52-10 over the final 3 quarters of play as they erased the horrible taste left from the beatdown the suffered at the hands of Klein Collins at Reliant on Opening Day with a 59-31 victory in the first game of district play. The Wildcats fought back from an early deficit, and once they weathered that storm, they proceeded to blow the Rams away, much like they did in last year's game.
I've gotten so many questions as to what I would do in order to improve the offense, because apparently some people are dying to hear this. My answer is that I would make it a balanced attack, and that's what I saw Friday night. This team is so much better when they successfully integrate the passing game, especially with the personnel they have. The offensive system works. The Wildcats have been a fixture in the playoffs with this system, so I admit that I am a bit perplexed at this "they should change the offense" talk. Cy Woods has played fast and furious on offense since 2008. They have always had the skill players to do so, and I do not see that changing anytime soon.
Ridge has some real intriguing players, and I think they could be a spoiler team this season. I was especially impressed by their #1 running back, Trelon Smith. He returned a kick for a score in last year's game, and in this one, he carved up the Woods defense, especially in the 1st quarter. Toneil Carter may be the more heralded player, but Trelon is another outstanding talent in this district who represents the class of 2017. He's the next in a line of great Cy Ridge running backs.
So, What Happened Was....
On the first play from scrimmage, Kamari Staton forced a fumble by delivering a jarring hit to Bryson Powers, and the Rams recovered it at the Cy Woods 1. The Cats very nearly got it back on the next play, but Trelon Smith opened the scoring with a 1-yard run on 2nd down. The Cats responded with a fine drive that culminated in Bryson connecting with Jordan Johnson for a 14-yard touchdown pass. The 1st quarter turned out to be the Trelon Smith Show for the Rams, as he scored two more times (from 69, and again from 1 yard out) in the 1st quarter.
End 1st: Ridge 21, Woods 7
After Smith's 3rd score, the Wildcats scored 22 unanswered in the 2nd quarter. R.J. Harmon busted out a couple of 20-yard runs, and finished it off with a 7-yard touchdown catch. The defense then foiled a fake punt attempt, and one play later, Bryson found C.J. Jones for a 30-yard score. Another Ridge drive stalled, and on the first play of the Cats' next drive, C.J. found a wide-open Jordan Johnson for 57 yards. C.J. wrapped that drive up with a 15-yard touchdown catch, and Bryson Powers ran the ball in for 2 points following a botched snap. Ridge's 3 points in the 2nd came on a 40-yard field goal from Kevin Campos.
Halftime: Woods 29, Ridge 24
The Cats left the Rams in the dust by outscoring them 30-0 in the 3rd quarter.
For the 2nd time in his Woods career, C.J. Jones recorded 3 receiving touchdowns in a game. This one went for 56 yards, and on the PAT, Jordan leapfrogged a Ridge defender for 2 more points. Myles Wilson recovered a fumble and ran it back for a touchdown, but that got negated by a penalty. On the ensuing Wildcat drive, Jared Taylor punched it in from 10 yards out, and C.J. added 2 more points on a pass from Bryson. The Rams were knocking on the door late in the 3rd, but Kason Franklin put a stop to all of that with an interception, which he returned 96 yards for another score. Woods' final points of the night came when Brandon DePrato fell on an errant snap in the endzone.
End 3rd: Woods 59, Ridge 24
Ridge backup QB Tyson Williams scored the final points of the evening with a 5-yard run.
Final: Woods 59, Ridge 31
Ground
Despite the limited exposure, R.J. Harmon and C.J. Jones still made the most of their playing time. R.J. rattled off 3 20-yard runs, while C.J. did his damage in the passing game.
Jared Taylor, who did play some running back as a freshman, made his first start as a running back at the varsity level.
Jared Taylor: 11 carries, 69 yards, TD
Bryson Powers: 6 carries, 36 yards
Austin Goffney: 5 carries, 59 yards
R.J. Harmon: 4 carries, 65 yards
C.J. Jones: 2 carries, 15 yards
Jack Barrientez: 2 carries, 9 yards
Jordan Johnson: 1 carry, 3 yards
Air
Now that's the Cy Woods passing attack that I've been accustomed to seeing all these years. Bryson Powers looks to be the man going forward. Bryson didn't throw for 500 yards here, but his throws in this game were precise, and his receivers did the rest. He almost had a 6th passing touchdown, if it wasn't for a timely breakup in the 1st. Otherwise, Jordan Johnson would have left everyone in the dust. It's the 5th time that a Wildcat quarterback has thrown for 5 touchdowns in a game. 3 of these games have come against Ridge, and it's the 2nd consecutive year that this has occurred against Ridge.
Bryson Powers: 14-18, 223 yards, 5 TD
C.J. Jones: 1-1, 57 yards
Austin Goffney: 2-2, 4 yards
Jordan caught a 14-yard strike for the Wildcats' first points of the evening. His 57-yard catch on a halfback pass by C.J. Jones is now the longest pass play of the year for the Cats.
C.J. Jones: 4 catches, 109 yards, 3 TD
R.J. Harmon: 4 catches, 32 yards, TD
Jordan Johnson: 2 catches, 71 yards, TD
Tre' Hart: 2 catches, 33 yards
Jared Taylor: 2 catches, 31 yards
Austin Goffney: 1 catch, 12 yards
Jake Wolf: 1 catch, 2 yards
Brandon Sustala: 1 catch, 1 yard
Defense
Uh oh we found our defense
— Brandon DePrato (@cdubbdeprato8) September 12, 2015
The last time the Wildcats scored 2 defensive touchdowns in a game was the 2011 season finale against Cy Springs. It would've been 3 on Friday, had a penalty not wiped out Myles Wilson's 70-yard fumble return in the 3rd quarter. The Rams had a tough time holding on to the ball, as they put it on the ground 5 times. The Cats picked up 2 of them, one of which resulted in a touchdown. They both should've resulted in touchdowns, but oh well.
The late-down defense still needs some shoring up; the Rams were 8-15 on 3rd down, which included 2 touchdowns. Okay, one of those scores occurred midway through the 4th quarter, but this remains an area of concern. Both of their opponents have converted more than half of their 3rd-down situations, which is completely inexcusable. I know it's only been 2 games, but against teams like Ranch and Fair, they're going to have to find a way to get those offenses off the field as quickly as possible.
Brandon DePrato deflected a couple of passes that both nearly turned into interceptions. He almost deflected one to himself, but the ball was just out of his reach. He put up 6 more points in the 3rd when he outraced Ridge QB Cody Canady to a bad snap that found its way into the endzone, Austin Greaves made his presence felt with 9 tackles and a forced fumble. Kason Franklin put up double-digits in the tackle column to go along with his pick 6.
Jordan and Jared were also summoned to try to slow down Kevin LeDee, who gave the secondary fits all night. Trelon Smith had a fine night, but the Wildcat defense did well to keep him out of the endzone for the final 36 minutes of the game.
Tobi Orundami, in his first extended action, was a force on the line of scrimmage. This sophomore has tremendous upside, and it's going to be interesting to see how he develops. The Wildcats' first sack in district play belongs to Jordan Frazier; he drove the Rams back 6 yards.
Sacks: Jordan Frazier 1 (6 yards lost)
Passes broken up: Brandon DePrato 2, Collin Fewox 1, Elijah Strang 1, Jordan Johnson 1
Interceptions: Kason Franklin 1 (96 yards, returned for TD)
Fumbles recovered: Brandon DePrato 1 (recovered in endzone for TD)
Tackles: Kason Franklin 10 (4 assisted), Austin Greaves 9 (3 assisted, 1 tackle for loss), Terrell Brown 6, Keith Watson 5 (3 assisted, 1 for loss) Myles Wilson 5 (1 assisted), Neil Chambers 3 (2 for loss), Tobi Orundami 3 (all assisted), Elijah Strang 3 (2 assisted), Collin Fewox 3 (1 assisted), Ryan Olvera 3 (2 assisted), Jamion Fontenot 3 (1 assisted, 1 for loss), Cody Eggleston 2 (1 assisted), Caleb Smith 2 (1 assisted, 1 for loss), Brandon DePrato 2 (both assisted), Jordan Frazier 1 (sack), Austin Goffney 1 (assisted), Hunter Carmouche 1 (assisted), Adrian Garcia 1 (assisted), Dylan Bert 1, Brandt Redden 1 (assisted), Stace Ivie 1 (for loss)
Special Teams
The Wildcats did not punt in this game. Well, they did line up to punt once, and Jordan Johnson ended up running for 3 yards after a high snap forced him to do so.
Luis Reyes hit all 5 of his extra points. 2 more weren't attempted because of bad snaps, but Bryson Powers and Jordan Johnson were both able to run the ball in for 2 points.
Luis Reyes: 5-5 XP
Nothing significant in the return game. Ridge's only punt went for 19 yards and was not returnable.
Jared Taylor: 2 kicks returned, 40 yards
Jordan Johnson: 1 kick returned, 30 yards
C.J. Jones: 1 kick returned, 25 yards
Tre' Hart: 1 kick returned, 23 yards
Miscellaneous
The Ridge band played Skyfall as part of their halftime show. Skyfall is one of my guilty pleasure songs, and the fact that they played this song immediately makes them one of my favorite marching bands.
Man of the Match
This was a total team effort, rallying from a 21-7 deficit. So, I'm going with the entire team.
Looking Ahead
The Wildcats will be back at the Berry Center on Thursday to take on Cy Falls. Kickoff is at 7:00.
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